Fraud Warnings: Scams Impersonating Leanpub

Fake “VIP Author Spotlight” offers

This report was published on September 9, 2026. We will update it if we learn of new variations of this scam.

Leanpub has become aware of a fraud targeting authors.

Third parties have contacted authors and attempted to sell a service described as a “VIP Author Spotlight Feature”, while representing or implying that the service is connected with Leanpub.

It is not.

Leanpub does not offer a “VIP Author Spotlight Feature.” There is no Leanpub VIP Author Spotlight, and there never has been.

Ruboss Technology Corporation, which operates Leanpub:

• does not sell this service;
• has not authorized anyone else to sell this service on its behalf;
• does not receive payments for this service;
• does not employ or authorize the people offering this service; and
• does not offer a paid service promising a “Goodreads reviews boost.”

If someone contacts you offering a “VIP Author Spotlight Feature” and claims that it is provided by Leanpub, associated with Leanpub, authorized by Leanpub, or offered on Leanpub's behalf, that claim is false.

What the scam may look like

Based on information provided to us by an affected author, the scam may involve some or all of the following:

• An unsolicited approach to an author.
• A claim that the author has been selected or invited to participate in a special promotional opportunity.
• A service described as a “VIP Author Spotlight Feature.”
• Promises of priority placement or additional promotional exposure.
• Promises of personalized marketing or engagement support.
• Promises of increased reader visibility or reader engagement.
• A claimed “Goodreads reviews boost.”
• Statements suggesting that Goodreads reviews will improve a book's ranking or sales potential.
• Assignment of a supposed “marketing expert,” “adviser,” or similar person.
• Requests to make payment outside of Leanpub's normal checkout system.
• Requests for payment by bank transfer or to a third-party account.
• After payment, delays, postponed meetings, changing contacts, or unclear explanations about what is actually being provided.
• Refusal to issue a refund, sometimes accompanied by explanations that the money has already been distributed to other people or members of a supposed community.

These people are not Leanpub representatives.

A real report we received

We received a report from a Leanpub author who had been approached with an offer for a supposed “VIP Author Spotlight Feature.”

The author was told that the package would provide enhanced promotional exposure, personalized support, increased visibility and reader engagement, including what was specifically described as a “Goodreads reviews boost.”

The author paid the requested fee by bank transfer.

After payment, the author was passed between multiple supposed marketing advisers. Promised assistance was unreliable, meetings were repeatedly changed or postponed, and when the author asked one of the advisers about the promised Goodreads component, the adviser indicated that Goodreads was not actually part of their responsibility.

The author eventually terminated their participation and requested a refund.

The people operating the scheme refused to provide the requested refund and instead encouraged the author to continue using the service. They also claimed that the money had already been distributed within their organization or to members of their team.

The author subsequently contacted Leanpub directly.

That was when we became aware of the fraud.

Leanpub had no involvement in the service, had not authorized anyone to offer it, and had never received the author's payment.

We are publishing this warning to help other authors avoid the same scam.

How to recognize legitimate Leanpub payments

If you are purchasing something from Leanpub, make sure you are actually dealing with Leanpub.

A third party asking you to transfer money directly to an individual, bank account, marketing adviser, promotional organization, community, or other outside recipient is not the same thing as paying Leanpub.

Do not assume that someone represents Leanpub simply because:

• they mention Leanpub;
• they know the title of your book;
• they know that you are a Leanpub author;
• they contact you after finding your book on Leanpub;
• they use Leanpub's name or logo;
• they describe themselves as a marketing expert, publishing adviser, promotion specialist, or similar;
• they claim to have been assigned to you by Leanpub; or
• they say that an opportunity is available specifically to Leanpub authors.

If you are uncertain, contact Leanpub directly before sending any money.

Unsolicited promotional pitches that do not claim to be from Leanpub are a related problem. Our Help Center article I'm a Leanpub author getting spammed by people offering services. What can I do? covers those.

Goodreads

Leanpub does not sell a service called a “Goodreads reviews boost.” There is no Leanpub Goodreads reviews boost.

Anyone claiming that a Leanpub “VIP Author Spotlight Feature” includes a Goodreads reviews boost is making a false claim.

Do not pay anyone claiming to represent Leanpub in exchange for Goodreads reviews, rankings, promotional boosts, or similar services.

If you have already paid

If you believe you have paid one of these scammers:

1. Stop communicating with them about additional payments.

2. Do not send them any more money.

3. Preserve all evidence. Keep copies of:

   • emails;
   • messages;
   • usernames or profiles;
   • websites;
   • screenshots;
   • payment instructions;
   • invoices;
   • receipts;
   • bank-transfer information;
   • names used by the people involved; and
   • any claims that they work for or represent Leanpub.

4. Contact your bank or payment provider immediately. Explain that you believe you were induced to send money as part of a fraud. Ask whether the transfer can be recalled, reversed, investigated, or reported to the receiving financial institution.

5. Contact Leanpub. Send us the communications in which the person claimed or implied that they represented Leanpub.

When sending information to Leanpub, do not send us your own bank account number, banking credentials, passwords, authentication codes, or other sensitive financial information.

If a receipt or payment record contains your personal banking details, redact those details before sending us a copy.

Keep the original unredacted records for your own evidence.

Important clarification

Leanpub is not the recipient of these payments

When a scammer impersonates Leanpub and persuades someone to send money directly to the scammer or another third party, Leanpub does not receive that money.

Leanpub therefore cannot refund money that was never paid to Leanpub.

If you have already sent money, contact your bank or payment provider immediately and report the transaction as suspected fraud.

Leanpub will nevertheless investigate reports of people impersonating us or abusing our platform to target authors.

Phishing emails and WhatsApp texts pretending to be from Peter Armstrong

This report was written by Peter Armstrong, Leanpub's co-founder, and was originally published in the Leanpub Help Center as Phishing Emails Supposedly From Peter Armstrong. It was last updated on September 19, 2025. It is reproduced here so that all of our fraud warnings are in one place.

Security alert: phishing emails pretending to be from Leanpub

Some Leanpub authors have received scam emails impersonating Peter Armstrong.

These emails look convincing but actually come from Gmail addresses like info.peterarmstrong AT gmail.com.

Other phishing attempts are coming from “Ava Brooks” with an email info.avabrooks AT gmail.com.

Real emails from Leanpub only ever come from:

• <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>
• <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>

If you get a Leanpub outreach email and the sender in the angle brackets ends in @gmail.com, it's a scam.

Only Peter Armstrong and Len Epp do outreach, and Peter and Len only send emails from @leanpub.com or @ruboss.com email addresses.

If you get a Leanpub email from “Ava Brooks”, do not reply.

If you get an email from a Gmail address pretending to be from Peter or Len or anyone else at Leanpub, do not reply.

Specifically, the following are scam phishing email addresses:

• info.peterarmstrong AT gmail.com
• info.avabrooks AT gmail.com

Note that the AT is actually the @ sign. On this page, if a scam email address is being referenced, we write “ AT ” instead of typing the @ sign, so that nothing turns it into a clickable link and nobody accidentally emails a scammer.

What the phishing emails look like

At least three Leanpub authors have received phishing emails supposedly from me, Peter Armstrong.

In all three cases the emails were from info.peterarmstrong AT gmail.com and were pretending to be from peterarmstrong AT leanpub.com.

What this looks like in Gmail is as follows:

peterarmstrong AT leanpub.com <info.peterarmstrong AT gmail.com>

Please look at the actual sender in the angle brackets when you get an email that you think is from us.

The goal of the phishing attempts has been to get the author to engage with “Ava Brooks” with the email address info.avabrooks AT gmail.com (a scam email address).

We don't know what happens after this point, since the Leanpub authors that we have heard from have always figured it out by this point. I assume that “Ava Brooks” will ask for payment or something.

Important points

1. Only Peter Armstrong or Len Epp currently meet with authors or send any outreach emails to them.

2. If you think that Peter Armstrong or Len Epp is emailing you, please check the actual sender in the angle brackets to ensure that it is from <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> or <[email protected]>. If you see an email supposedly from us but with <[email protected]> in the angle brackets, it is a scam.

3. If you got an outreach message from an Ava Brooks or anyone other than Peter or Len, it is also a phishing attempt, and a lazy one at that.

4. If you want to see what Peter and Len look like, see some of our livestream videos, for example Some Great Deals on Courses Expire Soon! and the livestream for Friday, August 29, 2025.

5. Peter Armstrong and Len Epp never send Leanpub emails from gmail.com.

6. Peter Armstrong and Len Epp only send email from two domains: leanpub.com and ruboss.com.

(Ruboss is the company I founded way back in 2008, which owns and operates Leanpub. I do not send email from protonmail or gmail, even though I have a Gmail account, like almost everyone else.)

Please check the From address in the angle brackets if you get an email which is supposedly from us!

If it helps other Leanpub authors, we are pasting redacted examples of the phishing emails which were sent below.

The reason that we are doing this is that the phishing emails are pretty convincing. Unfortunately, it is a scam.

(Sadly, we had just been starting doing some actual outreach of our own, so now these scum are poisoning the well and many Leanpub authors will probably assume that any legitimate outreach from us is a phishing attempt. We'll have to figure out how to address this.)

I want to thank the Leanpub authors who shared the phishing email threads with us. This will hopefully help other Leanpub authors not get scammed.

First phishing example thread

Phishing email #1

This is the email that they sent to start it. It's actually pretty good.

Hello Author [REDACTED],

I hope this message finds you well. First, let me congratulate you on the remarkable achievement of writing and publishing . We're honored to have your book ([REDACTED]) in the Leanpub library, and we truly appreciate your trust in our platform.

We understand that reaching readers and expanding your audience can sometimes be challenging. You are not alone; many talented authors experience the same journey. At Leanpub, we believe every book deserves to be discovered, and we're committed to helping you succeed.

If this sounds helpful, simply reply to this email. Our goal is to make your publishing journey with Leanpub not only rewarding, but also inspiring.

Thank you once again for sharing your work with Leanpub. We look forward to supporting you in reaching even more readers worldwide.

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong
Co-Founder & CEO
Leanpub.com

Author reply #1

Obviously we will never share what the author sent to them. However, it was receptive enough to trigger the follow-up.

Phishing email #2

This is how they replied to the author's initial reply.

Hello [REDACTED],

Thank you so much for your thoughtful message. We're truly honored to have [REDACTED] in the Leanpub library, and it's wonderful to hear how you value the flexibility and engagement that Leanpub offers authors.

You mentioned the challenge of reaching readers and expanding your audience, this is something many authors experience. To better understand how we can support you, could you share a bit about the specific challenges you're facing right now in the process? For example, what steps have you already taken to grow your readership, and are there areas where your efforts feel stuck or not delivering the results you hoped for?

This will help us learn more about your journey so far, and we can then explore the strategies and support that might be most effective for you.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong
Co-Founder & CEO
Leanpub.com

Author reply #2

[REDACTED]

Phishing email #3

This is how they replied to the author's second reply.

Hello [REDACTED],

Thank you so much for this thoughtful and detailed note it's inspiring to see the clarity of your vision for [REDACTED] and the amount of work you've already put into building momentum around it. [REDACTED], your positioning, the content marketing, and the way you are engaging early readers all of this shows a very intentional and professional approach. It's truly exciting to see.

I also want to thank you for being so transparent about where you feel stuck and where Leanpub can support you. Many of the points you've highlighted discoverability, conversion, reviews, SEO, bundling, and enterprise channels are exactly the areas where our expert team can step in to make a meaningful difference. Our role is to take some of the weight off your shoulders, so you can keep doing what you do best: creating content and sparking important conversations.

Would you like us to connect you with one of our experts, who can work alongside you on the areas where you feel stuck, such as optimizing your Leanpub book page, surfacing social proof, exploring bundle partners, coupon strategies, enterprise licensing opportunities, and even course creation? With their support, we can help [REDACTED] gain greater visibility and reach the audiences who will benefit most from it.

Your focus on reach rather than revenue is something we deeply respect. At Leanpub, we believe that books like yours, which aim to spark meaningful change, deserve the widest possible audience, and we're committed to helping you achieve that.

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong
Co-Founder & CEO
Leanpub.com

Author reply #3

[REDACTED]

Phishing email #4

This is how they replied to the author's third reply. At this point they tried to convince the author to contact “Ava Brooks” at a Gmail address, info.avabrooks AT gmail.com. Again, they used the @ sign, but we are not going to use it because we do not want you accidentally emailing scammers.

Hello [REDACTED],

That's wonderful to hear, and I truly appreciate your openness and enthusiasm. The next step is simple: please reach out to our expert,

Name : Ava Brooks

Contact Gmail: (info.avabrooks AT gmail.com).

Ava will connect with you directly and work closely alongside you, guiding you through each of the areas we discussed from enhancing discoverability to surfacing social proof and beyond.

Her role is to ensure you feel fully supported at every stage, so that [REDACTED] not only reaches its intended audience but also creates the meaningful impact you envision.

We're genuinely excited to walk this journey with you, and I have every confidence that with Ava's support, your book will inspire and engage a much wider community of readers.

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong
Co-Founder & CEO
Leanpub.com

Second phishing example (the initial email only)

Hello Author [REDACTED],

I hope this message finds you well. First, let me congratulate you on the remarkable achievement of writing and publishing . We're honored to have your book ([REDACTED]) in the Leanpub library, and we truly appreciate your trust in our platform.

We understand that reaching readers and expanding your audience can sometimes be challenging. You are not alone; many talented authors experience the same journey. At Leanpub, we believe every book deserves to be discovered, and we're committed to helping you succeed.

If this sounds helpful, simply reply to this email. Our goal is to make your publishing journey with Leanpub not only rewarding, but also inspiring.

Thank you once again for sharing your work with Leanpub. We look forward to supporting you in reaching even more readers worldwide.

Best regards,
Peter Armstrong
Co-Founder & CEO
Leanpub.com

Third phishing example (the initial email only)

Hello Author [REDACTED],

Happy new month! I hope you're doing well and that this new month brings fresh energy and inspiration for your writing.

Publishing your book on Leanpub is a wonderful accomplishment. Every author's path is different, and I'd like to know more about yours. Aside from Leanpub not offering printing or physical distribution, what challenges have you met on the platform recently? Have there been things you tried to improve but didn't turn out as you hoped?

I'd truly appreciate hearing from you what difficulties you're facing now, how you've been trying to handle them, and where you still feel stuck. My intention is to support you in overcoming those challenges, so your journey feels lighter and more rewarding. Could you share a bit about this with me?

Warm regards,
Ava Brooks

See also our Help Center article How can I be sure an email I receive is really from Leanpub?